On 17-18 March 2104, Mr. Arthayudh Srisamoot, Director-General of the Department of ASEAN Affairs, will co-chair the 10th ASEAN-China Joint Working Group on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (JWG on DOC) with Mr. He Wei, Deputy Director-General of the Department Boundary and Ocean Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in Singapore.

The objective of the 10th JWG on DOC is to maintain and push forward the momentum of dialogue and consultations between ASEAN Member States and China in promoting effective implementation of practical cooperative projects under the DOC framework and ensuring substantive progress in the discussions of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) as mandated by the senior officials at the 6th ASEAN-China SOM on the Implementation of the DOC (SOM on DOC) held in Suzhou last September.

The Meeting will exchange views on issues such as modalities of the COC and basic principles/commonalities among ASEAN Member States and China. They will also develop Plan of Work which will serve as a guideline for the development of the COC in 2014. In addition, progress reports and outcome documents of the meeting will be submitted to the SOM on DOC for consideration. 

Thailand attaches great importance to promoting cooperation and building greater trust and confidence among ASEAN Member States and China.             

In this regard, Thailand is committed to accelerating the work of the JWG on DOC, which will be convened three times this year, namely, the 10th JWG on DOC on 17 - 18 March 2014 in Singapore; the 11th JWG on DOC in June 2014; and the 12th JWG on DOC back-to-back with SOM on DOC in September 2014 in Thailand.